Dual-activation financial products

ABSTRACT

A system operating in conjunction with a financial account permits joint activation of a virtual card associated with the financial account. An event-detection module detects an event related to the virtual card and an authorization component for permitting certain individuals to use the virtual card. A messaging module generates account-related messages and transmitting these messages to individuals associated with the financial account.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/691,214, filed Nov. 30, 2012, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/759,239, filed Apr. 13, 2010, nowissued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,346,665, the entire disclosure of which ishereby incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the invention relate generally to systems and methods forreimbursing insured individuals for losses, and, more particularly, tosystems, methods, and financial-services products that permit multipleindividuals to use stored-value cards to purchase replacement items.

BACKGROUND

Consumers and businesses often purchase insurance to cover losses topersonal property. In many cases, insurance related to a home orbusiness may cover more than just the physical structure. For example, atypical homeowner's policy covers losses of items within the home, suchas furniture, clothing, electronics, appliances, artwork, jewelry, andother items. Renter's insurance covers many of the same items, excludingfixtures and the like.

When a loss occurs, conventional practice is to have the insurancecompany (the “issuer”) assess the damage, estimate the loss, and providea live check to the insured. In cases in which the property is heldjointly (e.g., a husband and wife), the check is made payable to bothindividuals. While the issuer of the policy may control the amount ofthe check, it cannot determine how the insured will actually use themoney. Moreover, issuing live checks is expensive, and prone to loss andfraud.

The retail and financial services industries have, over the past fewyears, actively embraced the “stored-value card” or “debit card”concept. These cards provide the holder with a pre-defined spendinglimit based on either a bank-account balance or a set amount associatedwith the card. The cardholder may use the card at participating retailestablishments to purchase goods and services until the funds associatedwith the card are exhausted Like credit cards, debit cards and somestored-value cards require authorization or activation by an individualcardholder prior to an initial use, and, in some cases, the use of apersonal identification number (“PIN”) to use the card.

What is needed is a system and associated techniques and products thatallow insurance companies to issue stored-value cards which may be usedto purchase replacement items (or any other items needed) based onlosses actually incurred by the insured. Further, because the insured isoften a company or multiple individuals, such cards may require jointactivation and, as such permit use by more than one person.

SUMMARY

In one aspect of the invention, a system that operates in conjunctionwith a financial account is provided for permitting joint activation ofa card associated with the financial account. The system includes anevent-detection module for detecting an event related to the card and anauthorization component for permitting certain individuals to use thecard. The system further includes a messaging module for generatingaccount-related messages and transmitting these messages to individualsassociated with the financial account.

In some instances, the financial account is established in response aninsurance claim. The financial account may represent an amount of moneyavailable to the owners of the insurance policy on which the claim wasfiled. In some cases, rules may be associated with the financial accountthat dictate, for example, categories of goods and/or services on whichthe money in the account may be spent, who may spend it, a date by whichthe money must be spent, and/or establishments where the money may bespent. The system may also include one or more data storage devices forstoring card-activation information, cardholder information, and/or therules governing usage of the cards.

In another aspect of the invention, a device associated with a financialaccount is provided. The device may include a data storage medium forstoring computer-readable program code governing the authorization anduse of the device. In some instances, the device is a stored-value card,a debit card or a credit card. In other cases, the device is a virtualdevice, such as an on-line credit, gift certificate, or balance madeavailable to its users. The program code may include instructions forauthorizing use of the card by multiple individuals associated with thefinancial account and, in some cases, require activation of the card byeach of the multiple individuals prior to its use. The program code mayinclude instructions for implementing rules governing use of the device,such as restrictions on goods or services to which the money in theaccount may be applied, who may spend it, a date by which the money mustbe spent, and/or establishments where the money is spent.

In yet another aspect, a computer-implemented method is provided forauthorizing and governing the use of a debit card, stored-value card,credit card, or similar device. Alternatively, the device may be avirtual device, such as an on-line credit, gift certificate, or balancemade available to its users. The computer-implemented method comprisesinitiating a financial account based on an insurance claim and issuingcards to the insured parties. A first insured party activates the card,and messages are sent to subsequent parties to request activation. Onceall required parties have activated the card(s), the card(s) may be usedto purchase goods and services. In some case, restrictions are imposedon usage of the cards.

In an aspect, embodiments of the invention feature a system operating inconjunction with a financial account of an issuing institution having atleast one card associated therewith for accessing funds in the financialaccount. The system requires joint activation of usage of the at leastone card by at least two cardholders associated therewith. The systemincludes or consists essentially of a computational processing unit fordata processing and execution of stored instructions and, associatedwith the processing unit, memory for storing computer-readableinstructions executable by the processing-unit. The instructions, whenexecuted by the processing unit, implement an event-detection module for(a) detecting a first activation event, related to the at least onecard, received from one of a plurality of cardholders associated withthe financial account, and (b) subsequently detecting, from each of theother cardholders associated with the financial account, a subsequentactivation event. The at least one card (i) includes or consistsessentially of a virtual card, (ii) cannot be used by any of thecardholders until all of the cardholders have activated the at least onecard in accordance with step (b), and (iii) is authorized to be used byeach cardholder once all of the cardholders have activated the at leastone card.

Embodiments of the invention feature one or more of the following in anyof a variety of combinations. The system may include a data storagecomponent for storing activation and usage rules associated with the atleast one card. The usage rules may limit use of the at least one cardto purchases of items within specified categories, or even to purchasesof specified items (e.g., items including or consisting essentially ofreplacement items for items claimed on an insurance claim). The usagerules may limit use of the at least one card to purchases from specificretail establishments. The virtual card may include or consistessentially of an electronic funds transfer, a direct deposit, and/or amobile payment. The virtual card may be configured to be activated froma mobile device and used from the mobile device after all cardholdershave activated the card. The virtual card may include or consistessentially of an online credit, an online gift certificate, and/or anonline balance made available to the cardholders. The at least one cardmay include or consist essentially of at least two cards (e.g., at leastone virtual card and at least one physical card, which may include orconsist essentially of, for example a debit card, a credit card, or agift card).

In another aspect, embodiments of the invention feature acomputer-implemented method for activating one or more virtual cardsassociated with a single financial account of an issuing institution,the one or more virtual cards requiring joint activation of usage by atleast two cardholders associated therewith and facilitating access tofunds within the financial account upon activation. Computer-readableinstructions, stored in a memory associated with a computationalprocessing unit, are executed by the computational processing unit. Theinstructions include or consist essentially of (i) detecting a firstactivation event, related to the one or more virtual cards, receivedfrom a first cardholder associated with the financial account, (ii)subsequently to the detection of the first detection event, detectingactivation events from each of the other cardholders associated with thefinancial account, and (iii) preventing use of the one or more virtualcards until all of the cardholders associated with the financial accounthave activated the one or more virtual cards and authorizing the one ormore virtual cards for use once all cardholders associated with thefinancial account have activated the one or more virtual cards.

Embodiments of the invention feature one or more of the following in anyof a variety of combinations. The computational processing unit may beused to execute instructions for limiting use of the one or more virtualcards to purchases of pre-specified merchandise (e.g., merchandiseincluding or consisting essentially of items claimed as lost in aninsurance claim filed by the cardholders). The computational processingunit may be used to execute instructions for limiting use of the one ormore virtual cards to purchases at pre-specified retail establishments.The one or more virtual cards may include or consist essentially of anelectronic funds transfer, a direct deposit, and/or a mobile payment.The one or more virtual cards may include or consist essentially of anonline credit, an online gift certificate, and/or an online balance madeavailable to the cardholders. The first activation event may be receivedfrom a mobile device, and authorizing the one or more virtual cards foruse may include or consist essentially of authorizing the one or morevirtual cards from use from the mobile device.

These and other objects, along with advantages and features of thepresent invention herein disclosed, will become more apparent throughreference to the following description, the accompanying drawings, andthe claims. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the features of thevarious embodiments described herein are not mutually exclusive and mayexist in various combinations and permutations. The term “consistsessentially of” means excluding other materials that contribute tofunction, unless otherwise defined herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the sameparts throughout the different views. Also, the drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed uponillustrating the principles of the invention. In the followingdescription, various embodiments of the present invention are describedwith reference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of a multi-useractivation card system in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention; and

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the components of a multi-useractivation card system in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

When a consumer or business suffers a loss of property due to fire,theft or other event, an insurance claim may be filed to cover thereplacement cost associated with the loss. Often, the claim arises froman insurance policy owned either by an entity (e.g., a corporation) or acouple (e.g., a husband and wife). In either case, common practice is toissue a live check in the amount deemed appropriate given the loss. Forexample, if a fire consumes clothing, appliances and household items ina couple's home, the couple can file a claim against their homeowner'spolicy requesting reimbursement for the lost items. Once an amount isagreed upon, the insurer issues a check, typically made payable to thecouple jointly.

FIG. 1 illustrates one aspect of the present invention in which astored-value card is used as the method of payment and requiresactivation, i.e., an authentication and identification procedureperformed by the cardholders in order to authorize its use. As usedherein a “card” may refer to a debit card, a credit card, a gift card,an online stored-value account, or other device (either physical orvirtual) that is associated with a financial account. In some instances,as described above, activation may be required from both a husband and awife, whereas in other instances (e.g., where the insured is a business)activation may be required from more than one officer of the company.Specifically, an insurance claim is filed (Element 1). The claim ischecked against a database (Element 2) to ensure that the claim is validand to identify the persons to which the proceeds of the claim are to bepaid. In some instances, additional information may be appended to theuser information (Element 3) (e.g., bank account number, demographicinformation, loss items, etc.) to complete the claim. Once the claim isconfirmed and complete, information about the policy holder(s), anamount, activation requirements, and any redemption restrictions areforwarded to a card-issuer database (Element 4) and stored therein.

To “fund” the card(s), the insurer transfers money to a bank, creditunion, or an account at one or more retail entities in the name of theinsured party, thus establishing a financial account for their use(Element 5). A card issuer (typically a bank) issues one or more cards(Element 6) linked to the account that may be used to access the fundsin the account. Where the insured party comprises more than one person(e.g., a husband and wife) or is a company, a determination is made asto the number of cards needed (Element 7), and the card issuer and/orthe insurer may, in such cases, require multiple activation eventsbefore the card(s) may be used. By requiring multiple parties toactivate a card, the insurer and/or the financial institution issuingthe card ensures that the card(s) are not being used by unauthorizedindividuals. In some cases, only one card may be issued, but multipleindividuals (each having a different PIN or other unique password oridentification token) may be required to activate the single card. Inother cases, each individual may be issued a unique card, but none ofthe cards may be used until all of the cards (or, in some cases, somesubset of the cards) are activated. For example, if a college studenthas a computer stolen from a dormitory and it is covered under herparents' homeowner's policy, a card may be issued to the parents and tothe college student, but only require activation by each of the parents.In embodiments of the invention utilizing multiple cards, one or more ofthe cards may be virtual cards and one or more of the cards may bephysical cards.

In each case in which multiple activation events are required, a firstparty activates the card (Element 8) either by calling an activationcenter, logging on to an activation website, swiping the card at anauthorized ATM or other similar device, presenting himself personally ata retail establishment where the card may be used, or other procedurefor enabling secure transmission of account and/or personal informationto the card issuer. In some cases, the activation information providedby the cardholder is confirmed by comparing it to data stored in thecard-issuer database, the user database, or both. A message may then besent to the person who first activated the card confirming heractivation event. Messages may also be sent (Element 9) to theadditional cardholders (of the same physical card or of different cardslinked to the same account) requesting activation. In some cases, themessages may be sent asynchronously—i.e., each message is sentindependently of the others and the order in which the messages are sentand acted upon is irrelevant. In other cases, subsequent partiesactivate the card(s) (Element 10) in turn, each receiving a message toactivate his card after the previous person in the queue has activated.If the last cardholder has not activated the card (Decision Element 11and Element 12), the process repeats, and a new message is sent to thenext cardholder. If all the necessary cardholders have activated thecard(s), the card(s) are activated (Element 13) and the cardholders canbegin drawing funds from the associated account (Element 14).

FIG. 2 illustrates a system for implementing the techniques describedabove. A card or cards(s) 20 may have stored thereon computer-readableinstructions and/or data governing activation and/or usage restrictions,by means, e.g., of a magnetic strip 22, an embedded chip or memorydevice 24, or both. The card 20 can be, for example, a debit card, acredit card, a transfer funds card, a smart card, a stored-value card, agift card, an ATM card, a security card or an identification card. Thecard 20 may also include components for providing or processing eitheraccount, identity, payment, health, transactional, or other informationand communicating with central processing units or computers operated bythe providers of services, such as credit card institutions, banks,health care providers, universities, retailers, wholesalers or otherproviders of goods or services employers, or membership organizations.Card features may also enable the card to communicate with or beaccessed by other devices, including those used by retailers (e.g.,point-of-sale computers), and personal computers used in other businessapplications or at home (for example, a personal computer having abuilt-in or attached card reader).

As mentioned above, the card 20 may be a virtual device such as anon-line credit, gift certificate, or balance made available to itsusers. For example, the card 20 may include or consist essentially of anelectronic funds transfer (EFT), a direct deposit (also known as directcredit) transaction, i.e., a deposit of funds directly from a source(e.g., a financial institution such as a bank) into the payee's account,where the payment is initiated by the payer rather than the payee, anAutomated Clearing House network (ACH) transaction, a mobile paymenttransaction, and/or other non-physical (e.g., non-paper) fundstransaction. An EFT transaction is a transfer of money from one accountdirectly to another without paper or metallic money changing hands, andmay include or consist essentially of any transaction in which atransfer of funds is initiated through an electronic terminal such as acomputer, e.g., wire transfers, credit card transactions, ATMtransactions, credit transfers such as payroll payments, debit transferssuch as mortgage payments, Fedwire transactions, electronic benefittransfers (EBT), or point-of sale (POS) transactions. Electronictransactions may be processed by an institution (e.g., a bank) throughthe ACH network, the secure transfer system that connects all U.S.financial institutions.

Mobile payments (also referred to as mobile money, mobile moneytransfer, or mobile wallet transactions) generally refer to paymentservices operated under financial regulation and performed from or via amobile device (e.g., a phone, tablet, personal data assistant (PDA), orother hand-held device). In accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention, a mobile-payment card 20 may be activated and utilized (onceall required activations have been processed) via the same hand-helddevice (e.g., the hand-held device 38 of FIG. 2).

A central computing device 26 processes activation and authenticationtransactions related to the use of the card 20, and includes anevent-detection module 28, a messaging module 30 and in some instancesone or more data storage devices 32. The data storage devices 32 and/orcentral computing device 26 may store financial information pertainingto the account related to the card 20 as well as instructions foractivating and authorizing use of the card. The central computer device26 may send and receive communications regarding card activation andusage over a network 34, such as the Internet or, in some cases, aprivate network. Cardholders may use one or more computing and/orcommunication devices (e.g., a computer 36 or a hand-held device 38) tosend and receive activation and authorization information from thecentral computing device 26.

For example, the central computing device 26 receives messages and/orevents from cardholders wishing to activate and use the card 20 topurchase goods and services. However, in some implementations, the card20 may require more than one activation event, and in such cases theevent-detection module 28 identifies an activation request from acardholder and processes computing instructions that solicit theadditional necessary activations—e.g., initiating one or more messagesto be formatted and sent to additional cardholders for subsequentactivation.

In some instances, the location and/or identity of the cardholder andthe communication device used to activate the card may be stored in thedata storage device 32 to provide further authentication credentials.For example, a cardholder may be required to activate a card from aparticular device such that the MAC ID, IP address or telephone numbersent with the activation information to the central computing device 26matches data stored in the data storage device 32.

In addition to multi-party activation requirements, the card (or cards)may also be subject to various usage rules. In some cases, the usagerules may be guidelines or incentives (e.g., using the card at aparticular retailer allows the cardholder to receive special discountsand other offers) whereas in other cases the rules may dictate that thecardholders use the cards at specific locations (either physical orweb-based) and/or for specific items. This may be the case where, forexample, the card is issued based on an insurance claim againstparticular property such as electronics and clothing lost in a housefire. In such instances, the card issuer or other third party mayoperate a retail portal that allows cardholders to shop for replacementitems directly, or in some cases via referrals to other participatingretailers.

Further, the insurance company or financial institution may attributeusage rules to the card (and, by extension, the funds in the accountassociated with the card) that limit what the cardholders can purchase,where they can purchase goods from, price restrictions on certain goods,and/or by when the purchases must be made. For example, “sub-accounts”may be established within the financial account and linked to the card.The funds in these sub-accounts may be earmarked for particular expensesand, in some cases, may be periodically replenished based on thecoverage provided by the insurer, or other agreements between theinsurer and the insured. Funds in the sub-accounts may be used to payfor certain qualifying expenses such as per diem food and lodgingexpenses, and, so long as the charges are at approved establishmentsand/or fall within specified limits, may not require authorization orapproval. These rules are stored in the data storage device 32 andimplemented each time the card is used. For example, the device 26 mayimplement a rules engine capable of implementing a suite of usage rules,only some of which will be applicable to a particular cardholder. Eachcardholder's database record may contain pointers to the rulesassociated with that cardholder, along with arguments or values(particular types of items, allowed retailers, spending limits, etc.)for the parameters called for in the rules. These may be modifiedcentrally as appropriate, and the specified rules in their current form,with the current parameter values, are invoked for each cardholderwhenever he uses the card.

For example, a couple who recently suffered a loss due to a fire intheir home may need to purchase new furniture, new clothing, newappliances, new electronics, and other household goods to replace thoselost or damaged in the fire. Using the technique and system describedabove, both the husband and wife may be sent a card, each being linkedto a financial account funded by their insurance company. The insurancecompany may instruct the card issuer that both the husband and wife needto independently activate their card so the both cards will beauthorized for use.

In some implementations, the merchandise available to the cardholder maybe pre-specified by the insurer funding the financial account to whichthe card is related. Such a restriction may be used to ensure that thecardholders use the funds from their claim to purchase actualreplacement items, and, in some cases, may allow the insurance companyto collect a referral fee from the retailer for channeling customers totheir establishment. In certain instances, the merchandise available toa particular cardholder may be limited only to the exact items (orapproved alternatives) claimed as lost pursuant to their policy. All ofthese restrictions may be implemented in rules, as described above.

The insurer may work with one or more online retailers (e.g.,Amazon.com) and/or brick-and-mortar retailers with an extensive onlinepresence (e.g., Sears, Target, etc.) to build cardholder-specificportals at which on the approved merchandise is available and, in somecases, use of the activated cards may be limited—by user-specificrules—to purchases from these portals. In other cases, the cards may beauthorized for use at any retail establishment without any restrictionswhatsoever.

The components of the central computing device 26 may be implemented bycomputer-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines,programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that performsparticular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be practicedwith various computer system configurations, including hand-heldwireless devices such as mobile phones or PDAs, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The invention may alsobe practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks areperformed by remote processing devices that are linked through acommunications network. In a distributed computing environment, programmodules may be located in both local and remote computer storage mediaincluding memory storage devices.

The central computing device 26 may include a general-purpose computingdevice in the form of a computer including a processing unit, a systemmemory, and a system bus that couples various system componentsincluding the system memory to the processing unit. Computers typicallyinclude a variety of computer-readable media that can form part of thesystem memory and be read by the processing unit. By way of example, andnot limitation, computer readable media may comprise computer storagemedia and communication media. The system memory may include computerstorage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such asread only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM). A basicinput/output system (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help totransfer information between elements, such as during start-up, istypically stored in ROM. RAM typically contains data and/or programmodules that are immediately accessible to and/or presently beingoperated on by processing unit. The data or program modules may includean operating system, application programs, other program modules, andprogram data. The operating system may be or include a variety ofoperating systems such as Microsoft WINDOWS operating system, the Unixoperating system, the Linux operating system, the Xenix operatingsystem, the IBM AIX operating system, the Hewlett Packard UX operatingsystem, the Novell NETWARE operating system, the Sun MicrosystemsSOLARIS operating system, the OS/2 operating system, the BeOS operatingsystem, the MACINTOSH operating system, the APACHE operating system, anOPENSTEP operating system, or another operating system of platform.

Any suitable programming language may be used in accordance with thevarious embodiments of the invention. Illustratively, the programminglanguage used may include assembly language, Ada, APL, Basic, C, C++,C*, COBOL, dBase, Forth, FORTRAN, Java, Modula-2, Pascal, Prolog,Python, REXX, and/or JavaScript for example. Further, it is notnecessary that a single type of instruction or programming language beutilized in conjunction with the operation of the system and method ofthe invention. Rather, any number of different programming languages maybe utilized as is necessary or desirable.

The computing environment may also include other removable/nonremovable,volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. For example, a hard diskdrive may read or write to nonremovable, nonvolatile magnetic media. Amagnetic disk drive may read from or writes to a removable, nonvolatilemagnetic disk, and an optical disk drive may read from or write to aremovable, nonvolatile optical disk such as a CD-ROM or other opticalmedia. Other removable/nonremovable, volatile/nonvolatile computerstorage media that can be used in the exemplary operating environmentinclude, but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memorycards, digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM,solid state ROM, and the like. The storage media are typically connectedto the system bus through a removable or non-removable memory interface.

The processing unit that executes commands and instructions may be ageneral purpose computer, but may utilize any of a wide variety of othertechnologies including a special purpose computer, a microcomputer,mini-computer, mainframe computer, programmed micro-processor,micro-controller, peripheral integrated circuit element, a CSIC(Customer Specific Integrated Circuit), ASIC (Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit), a logic circuit, a digital signal processor, aprogrammable logic device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable GateArray), PLD (Programmable Logic Device), PLA (Programmable Logic Array),RFID processor, smart chip, or any other device or arrangement ofdevices that is capable of implementing the steps of the processes ofthe invention.

The network 34 may include a wired or wireless local area network (LAN)and a wide area network (WAN), wireless personal area network (PAN)and/or other types of networks. When used in a LAN networkingenvironment, computers may be connected to the LAN through a networkinterface or adapter. When used in a WAN networking environment,computers typically include a modem or other communication mechanism.Modems may be internal or external, and may be connected to the systembus via the user-input interface, or other appropriate mechanism.Computers may be connected over the Internet, an Intranet, Extranet,Ethernet, or any other system that provides communications. Somesuitable communications protocols may include TCP/IP, UDP, or OSI forexample. For wireless communications, communications protocols mayinclude Bluetooth, Zigbee, IrDa or other suitable protocol. Furthermore,components of the system may communicate through a combination of wiredor wireless paths.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed in detail herein, it should be understood that various changesand modifications might be made to the invention without departing fromthe scope and intent of the invention. From the foregoing it will beseen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all the ends andobjects set forth above, together with other advantages, which areobvious and inherent to the system and method. It will be understoodthat certain features and sub-combinations are of utility and may beemployed without reference to other features and sub-combinations. Thisis contemplated and within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, operating in conjunction with afinancial account of an issuing institution having at least one cardassociated therewith for accessing funds in the financial account, thesystem requiring joint activation of usage of the at least one card byat least two cardholders associated therewith, the system comprising: acomputational processing unit for data processing and execution ofstored instructions; and associated with the processing unit, memory forstoring computer-readable instructions executable by theprocessing-unit, the instructions, when executed by the processing unit,implementing an event-detection module for (a) detecting a firstactivation event, related to the at least one card, received from one ofa plurality of cardholders associated with the financial account, and(b) subsequently detecting, from each of the other cardholdersassociated with the financial account, a subsequent activation event,wherein the at least one card (i) comprises a virtual card, (ii) cannotbe used by any of the cardholders until all of the cardholders haveactivated the at least one card in accordance with step (b), and (iii)is authorized to be used by each cardholder once all of the cardholdershave activated the at least one card.
 2. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising a data storage component for storing activation and usagerules associated with the at least one card.
 3. The system of claim 2,wherein the usage rules limit use of the at least one card to purchasesof items within specified categories.
 4. The system of claim 2, whereinthe usage rules limit use of the at least one card to purchases ofspecified items.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the specified itemscomprise replacement items for items claimed on an insurance claim. 6.The system of claim 2, wherein the usage rules limit use of the at leastone card to purchases from specific retail establishments.
 7. The systemof claim 1, wherein the virtual card comprises at least one of anelectronic funds transfer, a direct deposit, or a mobile payment.
 8. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the virtual card is configured to beactivated from a mobile device and used from the mobile device after allcardholders have activated the card.
 9. The system of claim 1, whereinthe virtual card comprises at least one of an online credit, an onlinegift certificate, or an online balance made available to thecardholders.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one cardcomprises at least two cards.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the atleast one card comprises the virtual card and a physical card.
 12. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the physical card comprises a debit card, acredit card, or a gift card.
 13. A computer-implemented method foractivating one or more virtual cards associated with a single financialaccount of an issuing institution, the one or more virtual cardsrequiring joint activation of usage by at least two cardholdersassociated therewith and facilitating access to funds within thefinancial account upon activation, the method comprising: executing, bya computational processing unit, computer-readable instructions, storedin a memory associated with the computational processing unit, for (i)detecting a first activation event, related to the one or more virtualcards, received from a first cardholder associated with the financialaccount, (ii) subsequently to the detection of the first detectionevent, detecting activation events from each of the other cardholdersassociated with the financial account, and (iii) preventing use of theone or more virtual cards until all of the cardholders associated withthe financial account have activated the one or more virtual cards andauthorizing the one or more virtual cards for use once all cardholdersassociated with the financial account have activated the one or morevirtual cards.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising using thecomputational processing unit to execute instructions for limiting useof the one or more virtual cards to purchases of pre-specifiedmerchandise.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the pre-specifiedmerchandise corresponds to items claimed as lost in an insurance claimfiled by the cardholders.
 16. The method of claim 13, further comprisingusing the computational processing unit to execute instructions forlimiting use of the one or more virtual cards to purchases atpre-specified retail establishments.
 17. The method of claim 13, whereinthe one or more virtual cards comprise at least one of an electronicfunds transfer, a direct deposit, or a mobile payment.
 18. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the one or more virtual cards comprise at least one ofan online credit, an online gift certificate, or an online balance madeavailable to the cardholders.
 19. The method of claim 13, wherein thefirst activation event is received from a mobile device, and authorizingthe one or more virtual cards for use comprises authorizing the one ormore virtual cards from use from the mobile device.
 20. A system,operating in conjunction with a financial account of an issuinginstitution providing an electronic funds transfer (EFT) capability fortransferring funds in the financial account, the system requiring jointactivation for the EFT by all of a plurality of entities associatedtherewith, the system comprising: a computational processing unit fordata processing and execution of stored instructions; and associatedwith the processing unit, non-transitory memory for storingcomputer-readable instructions executable by the processing-unit, theinstructions, when executed by the processing unit, implementing anevent-detection module for: (a) detecting a first activation event,related to an EFT, received from one of the plurality of the entitiesassociated with the financial account, and (b) subsequently detecting,from each of the other of the plurality of entities associated with thefinancial account, a subsequent activation event related to the EFT,wherein the EFT cannot be processed until all of the plurality ofentities have performed at least one of the activation event inaccordance with step (a) or the subsequent activation event inaccordance with step (b).
 21. The system of claim 20, wherein theprocessing-unit further comprises instructions for electronicallytransferring funds from the financial account of the issuing institutionby the EFT.
 22. The system of claim 20, wherein the processing-unitfurther comprises instructions for enabling purchases of pre-specifiedmerchandise by the plurality of entities by the EFT.
 23. The system ofclaim 22, wherein the pre-specified merchandise corresponds to itemsclaimed as lost in an insurance claim filed by the plurality ofentities.
 24. The system of claim 20, wherein the processing-unitfurther comprises instructions for enabling purchases at pre-specifiedretail establishments by the plurality of entities by the EFT.
 25. Thesystem of claim 20, wherein the EFT is associated with at least one ofan online credit card, an online gift certificate, or an online balancemade available to the entities.
 26. The system of claim 20, wherein theprocessing-unit further comprises instructions for initiating a directdeposit transaction of funds from the financial account of the issuinginstitution by the EFT.
 27. The system of claim 20, wherein theprocessing-unit further comprises instructions for initiating a mobilepayment transfer of funds from the financial account of the issuinginstitution by the EFT.